Impact Gaming makes region more innovative and retains talent

The economic cluster Impact Gaming is increasingly developing into an innovation movement with economic and social impact. The network is growing steadily and now has almost 100 members. The meeting at Soapbox and Meet the Youngsters in Maastricht again showed some striking examples of how gaming can be a serious engine for regional development, talent retention and innovation power in South Limburg.

Quartermaster Raf Sluismans briefly outlined the framework. Impact Gaming wants to build on what already exists in the region and stimulate an ecosystem in which cross-pollination takes place between sectors, old and new technologies are combined and innovations are realized and scaled up to different sectors and target groups. Interest in the network is growing, and recent efforts have included linking up with the Smart Services Campus and EU projects.

Challenges connecting youth, education and business

Hans Heijnen, director at Soapbox, is using gamification to connect young people, educational institutions and organizations to make an impact together. Through formats such as the University Challenges, SDG Challenges and Company Challenges, Soapbox promotes entrepreneurship, innovation and regional cooperation. Some 1,000 teams have already participated in the University Challenge, in which students develop and pitch their startup, 30 of which grew into serious businesses. "Students not only gain knowledge and skills, they build their network while developing their own business. This is how we make the region more innovative and retain talent."

Gaming as a bridge between young talent and (eu)regional employers

Jos Meesen is the founder of Meet the Youngsters. "Our goal is that young people make the right choice for a study, internship and job, based on good knowledge about the (eu)regional labor market. On the other hand, we bring companies into contact with young talent through Employer Branding. Meet the Youngsters does this in various ways; through an online matching platform on which young people and companies profile themselves, through all kinds of events and challenges (including Most Attractive Employer) and through gaming tools such as a mobile escape room and VR company visits. "Many young people have little or no idea what's available in their immediate area," says Meesen. "With gaming and experience, we make the regional job market attractive and visible. In this way, we show young talent what opportunities are available, so that we can hopefully retain them for the region."

Gaming as a driver of innovation and safety

Finally, Andy Maassen of Sim Formula Europe showed how gaming technology adds value beyond the sports and entertainment world. Simracing was once developed to make racetracks safer so that drivers like Max Verstappen get to know circuits virtually, before they actually take to the track. But the value of simulation technology extends much further, providing data and insights that are also valuable in other fields, for example, to test, train or improve new technologies before they are deployed in practice. V

For Philips, Maassen did a live demonstration to show a new technology from Philips in which heart rate and breathing can be measured via cameras in the car, based on subtle color changes in the face and subtle movement of the torso. The technology potentially has several applications; for example, automatic adjustments to the car in an emergency, automatic activation of emergency services or faster triage through the data collected. This collaboration is an example of using gaming to achieve impact.

Learn more about Impact Gaming at impactgaming.gg